It gives me
great pleasure to meet with Your Honorable and all the
friends present here today. I value much of the opportunity
to share my views with you on China-Philippine
Relations in the 21st Century: Issues and
Prospects.

China and the Philippines are
friendly neighbors separated only by a strip of water and
the two peoples have enjoyed a time-honored friendship and
cooperation dating back to 1,700 years ago. History record
tells us that Chinese started to come to the Philippines as
early as the 3rd century. The Tang and Song Dynasties saw
close trade and cultural exchanges between our two
countries. Chinese began to settle down here in the
Philippines in the Ming Dynasty. They were well received and
lived together in harmony and amity with local people.
Today, numerous Philippine people have Chinese blood in
their veins, if their roots are to be traced. And it is no
exaggeration at all to say that there is genetic connection
between the two peoples.

The establishment of
diplomatic relations in 1975 opened up broad prospects for
developing friendly relations on the basis of the Five
Principles of Peaceful Coexistence between the two
countries. Over the past 28 years, the two sides have made
big strides in cooperation in various fields. There is a
constant exchange of visits of high-level leaders and there
are mechanisms of dialogues and cooperation at different
levels between the two governments. The visit of H.E.
President Jiang Zemin to the Philippines in 1996 and that of
H.E. President Gloria Magapagal-Arroyo to China in 2001 are
the most significant events in our bilateral
relations.

Last August, H.E. Wu Bangguo,
Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National
Peoples Congress of China, paid an official friendly
visit to the Philippines and attended the 4th General
Assembly of the Association of Asian Parliament for Peace
(AAPP). During Chairman Wus visit, China and the
Philippines signed two important agreements. One is the
Chinese Government providing US$ 400 million preferential
buyers credit to help build the north-railways in this
country; the other is the Currency Swap Agreement between
the central banks of the two countries concerning US$ 1
billion. These will make important and positive contribution
to the further development of our bilateral
relations.

Economic and trade cooperation
between two countries have developed rapidly. Bilateral
trade volume in the first half of the year reached US$ 3.8
billion, 74% higher than that of the same time last year.
Trading balance is in favor of the Philippine side, with a
surplus of US$1.1 billion. China-Philippine trade
cooperation is of great potential, we are expecting the
trade volume to reach US$ 10 billion in the coming years.
The agriculture cooperation of the two countries has made a
remarkable success. Chinas superior rice strains have
been extensively cultivated in the Philippines. Last March,
the construction of China-Philippine Agriculture Technique
Center was completed with aid from the Chinese Government.
The projects financed by the Chinese Governments
agriculture credit loan of US$ 100 million are also making
progress. The China-Philippine cooperation in trade and
other areas will further strengthen the basis for our
bilateral relations. The wide range of exchange,
coordination and cooperation between our two countries in
the military, cultural and health fields as well as in the
regional and international multilateral arena continue to
make positive progress.

Reviewing the history
of the past 28 years since the establishment of our
diplomatic ties, we are satisfied with the achievements made
in bilateral relations. In May 2000, China and the
Philippines signed a Joint Statement defining the Framework
of Bilateral Cooperation in the 21st century, opening high
ground for bilateral ties in the new century. Looking ahead,
we are filled with boundless confidence. It is of the most
importance for both of us to keep on adhering to the
following principles in order to enable China and the
Philippines to remain good neighbors, friends and partners
forever.

I. Continuing to maintain high-level
exchanges and contacts between the two countries and enhance
exchanges at all levels. China welcomes personages from the
Philippine government and parliament as well as academic and
journalistic circles to China for visits to further
strengthen understanding and trust.

III. Handing the
differences properly. As for the problems remaining between
the two countries, the two sides should, from a strategic
high, calmly and properly deal with these issues, preventing
them from undermining the bilateral friendship and basic
interests of the two peoples.

IV.
Strengthening cooperation in international affairs. Both
developing countries, China and the Philippines extensively
share common interests in international and regional
affairs. Under the current world situation, the two sides
should strengthen communication and cooperation in the
United Nations (UN), the World Trade Organization (WTO),
Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD), Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM)
and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), ASEAN + 3
and ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) so as to contribute to
international and regional stability and
development.

As an ancient Chinese saying goes,
How nice it is to have good neighbors. The
Chinese people have all along cherished their intimate
sentiments with the Filipino people. After all, there is no
conflict of fundamental interests between us. What we share
is similar historical experiences in the past and identical
missions to accomplish in the future. The common interests
of us far outweigh the differences over some specific
issues. There is no reason for China and the Philippines to
be hostile to or skeptical of each other. Instead, we have
every reason to support and cooperate with each other.
Therefore, to develop good neighborly relations with the
Philippines is not an expedient policy, but rather an
inevitable choice of China that conformed to the long-term
interests of our two peoples.

Just a few days
ago, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao attended the summit meetings
of the 7th ASEAN plus China, Japan and ROK, and ASEAN plus
China in Bali, Indonesia. During the meetings, Premier Wen
Jiabao met with President Arroyo. Both the leaders expressed
satisfaction over the smooth development of bilateral
relations and hoped that the two countries cooperation
would expand into more areas. During the meetings, by
signing the document on strategic partnership for peace and
prosperity between China and ASEAN, China has become the
first strategic partner of ASEAN. China has also formally
acceded to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC) in
Southeast Asia. Chinas participation in the treaty is
a positive development in maintaining good relations with
its neighbors and is also conducive to the regional peace
and stability. There is no doubt to believe that
Chinas friendly relations with ASEAN countries,
including the Philippines, has entered a higher level and
will become much brighter and better in the 21st
century.